Branches on a Tree
by Tamuril2
Summary: What if it wasn't as easy as just choosing to switch sides? What if Tanner had something on Brian? Something that kept Brian on a leash, a really short leash. AU. Teen Brian. No Slash.


**Warnings:** PG13, just to be safe. There is a bit of graphic description of throwing up. Not really bad though. Oh, and hints towards abuse. Lastly, Tanner is a bad guy in this. This is not a reflection on the Feds in any way.

Ages of characters:

Brian: 17  
Mia: 19  
Dom: 45  
Vince: 39  
Jesse: 18  
Leon: 37

* * *

It's not the right time.

Honestly, there might never be one…but now _definitely_ isn't the right time for this. That much Brian knows for sure. Bad enough he's being blackmailed into doing this by that Fed.

 **0/0/0/0/0**

 _"Lompoc will eat you alive, boy!" Tanner spits into his face, the smell of old garlic and pizza washing over Brian. He doesn't move an inch though, he's learned that much by now. Give any indication and Tanner will eat him alive, and enjoy every second of it. The Fed's got 130 pounds on the seventeen year old, so Brian stands and pretends he's made of wood._

 _No good._

 _Tanner's left eye twitches. "You testing me?"_

 _Brian lets the "wood" move in the wind – he shakes his head. "No…sir."_

 _The last part is tagged on so obviously, strained by the hatred the younger man feels for his handler. Tanner narrows his eyes, and Brian thinks that tonight he might be nursing some more bruises again. But then Tanner smirks and pulls back._

 _"Just remember our little deal, O'Conner." The Fed turns on his heel. "I want Toretto implicated by next month, or you'll be wishing I shot you."_

 **0/0/0/0/0**

Brian hates that he let Tanner get to him. He should be stronger than this. He's better….but….Lompoc. Even Dom had shudder when he recalled his stay in that prison. If someone like Toretto is worried about going back, what chance does Brian have in there? Let's just forget that Lompoc isn't supposed to be for light crimes, like teens boosting cars. Brian's ending up in there if he so much as inches a toe out of line.

Tanner's got connections.

So, Brian caves, lets himself be led along like a good dog. Plays all the tricks Tanner asked and gathers all the Intel on the stolen trucks. Only to find it really isn't Toretto doing it. Oh, he'd done the first two, but then Mia got to him and the whole thing was shut down. It's just a copycat now.

Brian tells Tanner this.

No deal.

Tanner has some beef with Dom. Which is just great, you know. Brian loves getting between two alpha males.

 **0/0/0/0/0**

 _"It's not him," Brian says, handing the manila folder over._

 _Tanner stares at it, and then shrugs. "Makes it stick anyway."_

 _"…what?"_

 _"Make. It. Stick."_

 **0/0/0/0/0**

Worse, Brian honestly considers doing just that; betraying the only family he's ever really known, the one that cares for him like no has before. All of which leads to him standing in the garage by himself at 2am. The place smells like gasoline and sweat. The light overhead is buzzing. It does nothing to hide the fact that he's a tracer in one hand and a wrench in the other. All he has to do is get the hood up, use the tool, and insert the tracer.

Easy.

Dom goes back to Lompoc and Brian….keeps on being Tanner's lapdog, squealing on whoever the Fed wants.

Brian tightens his grip on the wrench. He can't. He won't! Not to the people who took him in, made him start to care about himself.

 **0/0/0/0/0**

 _"The modeling company called, Brian!" Jesse smirks from the kitchen door. The other guys snicker. Jesse grins more. "They want you back. Said you lost enough weight."_

 _By Toretto standards, it's a lame joke. Heck, by any standards it's lame. So Brian gives it all the attention it deserves. The bird. Which he gives liberally, and then eats a second helping of pizza, just to spite Jesse._

 _Vince goes on about it the whole evening._

 _It's not until later that night that Brian figures out this was the plan all along. To get him to eat, that is. The family's worried about him. He's…he's never had that before._

 _Since when did Jesse get soft?_

 _When did he?!_

 **0/0/0/0/0**

Brian throws the wrench away, getting some satisfaction in hearing it clang off the concrete flooring. He hopes it breaks, so he won't be tempted to use it.

"You know," a deep voice rumbles from behind him. "I'm pretty sure my Dad gave me that wrench."

Brian almost whirls around, but stops himself at the last minute. He can't face Dom, not now. He clenches his hands into fists and contemplates making a run for it. Nah, his leg's still busted up from Tanner's friends paying him a…visit.

"He'd good taste in wrenches then," Brian says.

"That's it? I find you trying to set me up, and you crack a joke, O'Speilner?"

Brian can feel Dom closing in on him like a semi-truck in full throttle. He forces himself to stand in place. He deserves this. "Pretty much."

"Talk." Dom yanks him around. "Now."

Brian hides the wince at the pain his leg causes and shrugs. "Got a better deal, man."

Dom punches him, hard enough that he flies back into the car. "Not good enough. What deal? You ain't seen no one!"

Brian sucks in a breath, feeling the beginnings of a nice bruise under his left eye. Like anyone's going to believe his story. 'The Fed threatened me with Lompoc.' Yeah, right. He wouldn't swallow that pill either. Sounds too…too…it's just not going to be bought.

Toretto grabs both his shoulders in his large hands and leans in. "Who did you see?"

"…" Brian opens his mouth. He really tries to answer. But nothing's coming out. His eyes burn. Why? Why, why, why did he cave? He could've run. Gone to Utah or Canada. But, no, he just had to do what Tanner wants.

Coward.

He's such a coward.

Like Tanner could've found him in Canada. His connections don't go that far…do they?

Toretto shakes him. "Who, O'Conner? What did they pay you?"

Brian ignores the newest twinge from his leg. "Nothing."

There. Something came out this time.

Dom's eyes narrow, and his bear grip lightens up. "What do they got on you?"

Brian looks away. "Everything."

There's a silence, so thick Brian thinks it might choke him.

Dom takes a step back. "Talk. Now."

And Brian does. Once he starts, it's like he can't stop. He tells everything.

"I…I got caught…boosting cars. Been doin' it for years, but they got me all the same. Rough me up a little and then dropped in this Fed's lap. Tanner, his name's Tanner."

"Tanner?"

"Yeah….?" There's definitely some recognition from Dom.

Dom's eyes narrow. "Bad blood there."

Brian gulps. It's not like he can demand an explanation, not after being caught here. He resists the urge to fidget, anything to push this faster along. The car door digs into his spine. "Well, Tanner….he really….really….he wanted you out, man. Real bad. I…I said 'no'. But he…he convinced me."

Dom raises an eyebrow.

Brian looks away. "Lompoc."

"He threatened you with Lompoc?" Dom's voice has gone all soft, pity and anger mixing together.

"Let me slam in there for a week before he even asked me anything."

Dom curses. "You're seventeen!"

Brian focuses on being really, really small. Everyone knows to stay out of Dom's path when he's like this. Even Mia. After a bit, Dom calms down to a grumble. "He said he'd put you back if you didn't play ball."

"…yeah."

Dom sighs. "I'm sorry."

Brian's head snaps back as his eyes widen. "What?"

Why in the _world_ would Dom apologize to _him_? Brian's the one who messed up, not Dom. Brian betrayed the family, Dom…Dom is dead to rights to beat him to a bloody pulp and toss him back to Tanner.

"Tanner's my business." Dom sighs again and rolls his shoulders back. "This is family, you shouldn't have been caught up in that."

And does it ever hurt that Dom says it like that. As if he never considered Brian part of the unit. As if it's all been on Brian's side, this close connection. But then, what has Brian ever done to prove himself to Dom? To Mia? To any of them? He waltzed in, mooched off their food and house, play with their cars, and then betrayed them.

Family doesn't do that.

Dom's right. Brian never was part of them. He wanted to be. And maybe, if things had been different, he might have gotten in. Not now though. He's burned that bridge to ash.

Brian's stomach sours. He clenches his teeth against the sudden itch to throw up.

He's got no one now. He's by himself. Tanner….Tanner will roast him alive. Then send him to Lompoc.

And there goes Brian's last will power.

He throws up all over the front of Dom's shirt on his way down to his knees. He hits the floor hard, knees screaming at the impact. That pain quickly goes away as he vomits some more.

"Brian!" he hears Dom yell, but it's like the man's voice is coming through a fuzzy radio station.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Brian repeats as he gasps for breath. He gets a huge whiff of vomit and throws up again. Which only adds to the smell. He dry heaves. There's nothing left in his stomach but bile, so he continues to dry heave for a bit. Someone's got their hands on his shoulders, making sure he doesn't face-plant in his mess.

He won't survive Lompoc a second time. That one week had been bad enough. But now? He's a snitch. That whole thing about 'snitches get stiches'? Yeah, Lompoc took it to a way new level. A really ugly one. Brian's not just toast. He's burnt, cindered, black charcoal. The only reason he'll even make it more than a week is because everyone will want a piece of him, and that'll take a while.

Brian gages again.

"Breath, Brian!" Dom shouts in his ear.

Brian jumps at the sudden yell. But…it does sound as if Dom is quietly panicking, so Brian can understand the barked command. He struggles to obey the order. "Y-yes, sir."

Dom snorts. "Haven't called me 'sir' since that first day, Arizona."

"O-old habits d-die h-hard?"

"He's got you good."

Brian flinches.

Dom squeezes his shoulders. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Home?"

"Yeah, you know that place that smells like Leon's old socks? And has Letty's magazines everywhere?" Dom cracks a smirk.

Brian shakes his head as Dom pulls him upright. What Twilight dimension is this? He swallows. "But I –"

"Yeah, we'll talk about all that later," Dom interrupts. He hauls Brian out the door. "Right now, Mia will kill me if you're late for her pasta salad. Dad's special recipe. She demanded I make sure you were there for it."

Brian numbly buckles himself in. "But…"

"Shut up, Brian." Dom slams the door shut. Brian grimaces at the sound. He hears the trunk pop open – there's a brief moment of terror, where he thinks Dom's getting his shotgun out – and then Dom's sliding into the driver's seat, new shirt on.

 **0/0/0/0/0**

Brian fiddles with his pasta. His stomach refuses to take any more than two bites. Lets him know, in no uncertain terms, that it will throw up again if he puts anymore in. That would be fine with Brian – he's got more important things to worry about – except Mia made it and she's been shooting him concerned looks all through the meal.

"You dieting again?" Jesse asks, burping. "I told ya, man. The modeling company sucks. Ditch that dream and gorge yourself."

At the word 'gorge' Brian gags. "Excuse me."

He pushes himself up and rushes into the house. He barely makes it to the bathroom before he's upchucking those two bites of pasta. Great. Now, Mia will think he's either sick or that she poisoned him. Just wonderful.

"Brian?" Mia says from the doorway. He glances over at her. There's a small glass of water in her hand. She passes it to him and disappears. Dom replaces her. He leans against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest. Brian sips on the water in an attempt to ignore the man.

"We'll get you out of this," the older man rumbles.

Brian chokes out a watery laugh. Get him out? Like it's that easy. Like everyone will just agree to drop their entire life and run into hiding for him. Okay, Mia might. Dom, for whatever Twilight Zone reason, seems to be willing to. Jesse…all right Jesse too. But that's because Jesse's stupid enough to be loyal to his 'super model, bro'. Leon won't. And Vince will just want to toss him back.

As they should.

"You….you can't," Brian says.

"Oh?"

"Family –"

"Includes you."

Oh.

….

Oh.

That….that loosens something in Brian's chest. A little bit. Before a black cloud comes in. "But I –"

"You think this is the first time someone in the family's done something stupid because they were scared?" Dom glares at him. "Family doesn't bail on you the moment you mess up."

Well, Brian's certainly did. And that was just for boosting cars. This is way worse.

"You don't know what he'll do, Dom. He'll –"

"Okay, here's how it's gonna go, O'Speilner –"

"O'Conner."

"…O'Conner, then." Dom raises an eyebrow, as if daring him to insert another interruption. "We're going to pretend I _do_ know Tanner. That I _do_ have history with the guy, so therefore I got something going for us."

Brian catches himself leaning away from the raw anger vibrating off Dom.

"We're also going to pretend you're not an idiot. That you trust us to watch your back." Dom steps closer. "Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now get up to bed. I'll let everyone else in on this."

"No!" Brian scrambles up, water sloshing out of the glass.

"No?"

"I mean…I'm coming with, Dom. I…I got us into this mess. I'm not hiding in my room like some little kid. I can face the music."

Dom shakes his head. "Fine. Get out here then. And try not to throw up again. You've got _me_ worried now."

Brian nods.

 **0/0/0/0/0**

Dom gathers the family into the TV room. It's always the spot they choose to go over stuff, when the garage is too far away. The men file in with stomps and growls about leaving dinner early. Mia starts to walk over to Brian, but Dom shakes his head 'no'. She frowns, but goes to stand by Letty instead. Letty puts a subtle arm around her, probably for moral support.

Everyone can tell this isn't going to be pretty.

"What the Buster done now, Dom?" Vince grumbles as he flops onto a chair. Leon nods his agreement.

Dom straightens up. "Tanner's gunnin' for us again."

"You snitch," Vince snaps out, glaring at Brian. "I told you he was no good, Dom. I told you!"

"We need to start packing?" Leon asks.

"No, not yet," Dom says.

"I told you, Dom! But you didn't listen," Vince continues, standing up now. "Now the family's in trouble. All because the Buster couldn't resist the take."

"I'm not on the take!" Brian yells, hands going into fists. Dom wraps his fingers around Brian's shoulder, forcing him to stay put. Brian obeys the silent command, even if crunching Vince's nose does sound awfully tempting right now. He'd never betray family for something as stupid as money. Never.

Not that betraying family for any reason is good, but…well, Dom seemed to think Brian still gets to stay, even after all this.

"Oh yeah?" Vince snarls, bringing Brian back from his thoughts. "Right. Like you even know what family is. Ditch him, Dom. Now. Before we all end up dead. Or in county lockup."

Brian's stomach churns. He can't imagine Jesse in that cesspool. Bad enough he might. Having one of the others – Jesse, Leon, heck, even Vince – is nightmarish. Brian keeps it together though. He told Dom he'd face the music, and that's what he's going to do.

Jesse looks like he might be sick himself – he never takes surprises well. Mia…Mia disappears into the kitchen with Letty, who shoots Brian a dark look of death. He can hear a small sob floating out from the other room. Vince's face goes almost black as he stands. Brian resists the urge to step behind Dom, use him as a visible buffer.

"Dump. Him. Dom." Vince says each word as a separate entity. As if each one is deserving of its own emphasis. "He's not worth it."

"Family's always worth it," Dom counters.

"He's not family!" Vince runs a hand through his hair, getting snagged halfway in. He growls and yanks his hand out. "He's a snitch. He'll burn us at the first opportunity."

"He won't," Dom says it in such a way that it could be Gospel. As if there wasn't any other way for this to go, but Brian remaining faithful to them. And, maybe, to Dom, that is the only way he sees it. Brian's not as sure. He almost gave them up tonight. What if Tanner gets ahold of him again? Jams him up just a little bit more?

Vince is obviously thinking the same thing, if his next words are anything to go by.

"Oh yeah? How'd you find out about Tanner, Dom?" Vince sends Brian a nasty smirk. "Bet someone snuck into the garage a little late, didn't he? Gonna plant evidence, weren't you, Snitch?"

Brian flinches at the name.

Dom's fingers squeeze Brian's shoulder gently. "He didn't do it though, Vince. He'd already chosen family by the time I got there. Didn't even have to say anything."

That, at least, changes something in Leon's mind. The younger man's forehead smooths out and he tilts his head to the side. "So, what's the plan?"

"What?!" Vince rounds on Leon now. "Not you too. He's bad news, brother. You –"

"Look, Dom's already decided this, Vince. And I trust him. He wouldn't put the Buster ahead of us. Ahead of Mia." Leon huffs as he pushes off the couch. "I'm getting' some more booze."

He saunters out without another words, leaving Dom, Vince, and Brian alone to hash this thing out.

Standing there, enduring Vince's laser glare and Dom's quiet anger, Brian feels all of his seventeen years. How did it come to this? He'd been fine cruisin' along life by himself. It's been that way since he was eight. Dad walked out fast when the school bills became higher, Mum becomes absent to all except her newest bar tab. So, Brian tightened his belt and marched to his own tune.

And it'd worked just fine.

Until he got caught.

Until Tanner.

Now…now he's got a real family. Real worries.

It sucks.

And doesn't, at the same time.

Brian can't decide which to choose.

Does he hate this or love it? Both, he thinks. Because, that's what family is, a hate/love relationship. But always constant. Always. Like this. Standing here, beside Dom, having Vince melt him down with his eyes, is what family's all about. Sticking with you, even when you screw up so bad everyone else would throw you off the cliff.

"You're going to regret this, Dom," Vince says at last, and storms out.

Brian licks his chapped lips. "He's right, you know."

Dom smacks him upside the head. "Shut up. And go to bed."

"What am I, twelve?"

"Might as well be."

"I hate you."

Dom snorts. "And now you're ten."

Something softens in Brian, something cold that Tanner put in. He's not alone. Not anymore. If Tanner comes for him – and Brian's pretty sure he will – Dom's gonna give him hell, and then some. Brian's lips quirk up. He'd pay to see that; Tanner, getting his due. But…

"Tanner knows about the first two trucks," he says.

"Figured as much."

"What if…" Brian stuffs his hands into his jean pockets. "He could try and make that stick. It _was_ over three grand."

Dom shrugs and ushers him into the kitchen. "We'll deal with it."

 **0/0/0/0/0**

Mia comes to him about an hour later. She corners him in his room. Quiet grace mix with deadly rage in her face. She doesn't say a word. She doesn't need to. Brian knows what she thinks of him. How can she not? The Snitch who came in, played with her heart, toyed with her family, and then tried to put her brother in prison again. She hates him, and he deserves every bit of it.

He shoves away his apologies and waits for her condemnation.

"I hate you," she whispers.

"I know." He focuses on his shoes, as if not looking will make her words hurt less. Which fails, by the way. Hurts more than when his Dad left. Because she meant something to him. They fit well together, but he gets why she despises him.

"I hate you," she repeats. "But I forgive you too."

His head jerks up, eyes widening.

"Dom explained it." She sighs, playing with her shirt sleeve. "Lompoc…Lompoc almost destroyed him. I get why you'd do anything to stay out too."

"I…" Brian can't get past that.

"I think…I think we should take a break. There's too much going on right now. Maybe…" She looks at the out the window. "Maybe after…"

He holds onto the light of hope that brings him. "Okay."

 **0/0/0/0/0**

When Tanner does come for him it's nothing like Brian thought it would be. He knocks on the front door. Knocks! And waits for them to answer. Leon lets out this sort of strangled gurgle when he opens the door.

"Ah, Mr. Farth," Tanner's voice slides from the doorway. "Good to see you're still as able as the last time we met. Is Toretto around? I presume he is, seeing as his car is in the driveway."

"What you want, Tanner?" Dom asks (more like snaps) as he pushes Leon back out of the way.

"A confession would be nice, but I'll settle for O'Conner." Tanner smiles, all teeth and hard edges.

"No, O'Conners here," Dom shrugs. "I heard one moved to Kansas last week though."

The smile on Tanner's lips dips down a bit, before straightening out again. "Adopted him, have you?"

And does that ever sound like a threat.

Brian goes to move into the hallway, but Vince, of all people, yanks him back into the kitchen. Brian tries to tug his arm out of the older man's grasp, but Vince only tightens the grip. Brian starts to say something, but Mia all but slaps her hand over his mouth. Now he's got two people manhandling him. He glares at them both.

He's not stupid enough to _really_ fight them, not when he knows why they're doing this, but he's all for showing them how much he appreciates their meddling. If their faces are anything to go by, they don't care a bit. Great. More family love. This is the part he hates. Where they risk it all and don't let him help.

"Mighty kind of you, Torreto," Tanner says.

No answer from Dom.

"He's mine," Tanner says. "Give him and I'll forget the two trucks."

It's actually a sweet deal. Tanner's no fool. Brian both aches for Dom to say yes – anything to save the others from Tanner's wrath – and hopes Dom refuses – he's had nightmares about Lompoc for a week now.

"You got squat on us, and you know it," Dom returns. "Now get off my property."

No need to ask if it's a threat. Nothing else it could be.

"Kinda hard to, Torreto," Tanner says. "Got his fingerprints all over a gun that shot up a store. Bit of DNA too."

Brian's heart sinks to out of his shoes. This is it. There's no way around that. He can even figure out of Tanner pinned all that on him.

"Get out," Dom hisses.

And Tanner, to Brian's everlasting surprise and dread, leaves. No other words. No promises of retribution. He just up and gets into his black van. Goes off into the sunset like some demented black knight. Only then do Mia and Vince let Brian go.

Brian storms out into the hall. "You can't do this!"

"Oh? Last I checked I still ran this family."

"He'll lock you all up. Heck, he might even off one of you." Brian paces the small area. "Let me go to him. It…I'll make him a new deal. Tell him stuff about Tran."

Dom ignores him. "Mia, go pack an overnight bag. And your school stuff."

"Dom," Brian pleads. "He's got DNA evidence. It's all but done."

"Leon, Vince, go to the garage and wipe down everything." Dom turns to Jesse. "Work your magic, kid. Make us disappear."

Jesse grins. "We'll be gone faster than Mad Hatter to a Lady Gaga show."

(Which could mean anything in Jesse terms)

Brian's tentative hold on his nerves shatters. "Stop it, Dom! It's not worth it anymore."

"On second thought," Dom says. "Vince you stay with the Buster. I give you permission to sit on him if he tries to leave. Come on, Leon, Tanner's not gonna waste any time."

"Dom!" Brian yells as the two men exit out the front door.

Needless to say, Vince took a gigantic amount of pleasure in tackling Brian to the floor and sitting on him until Mia made him get off.

 **0/0/0/0/0**

They actually make it to the Mexican border before the law catches up to them, in the form of a hulking man named Hobbs. The agent swoops in like a hawk on a rat. He's even got this special black ops team. They corner them in a small warehouse just outside the border, where Hobbs and Dom go at it.

There's even a moment where Brian almost thinks Dom's gonna slug a wrench into Agent Hobbs' skull.

(Thankfully, that doesn't happen)

All in all, it's pretty spectacular.

Then, as the two men are huffing and throwing glares at each other, Hobbs waves off the guy going to cuff Dom. At Dom's questioning look:

"You always greet the help like this, Torreto?"

Dom's forehead wrinkles in confusion, as does pretty much everyone else's – except for Hobbs' team.

"Help?" Jesse asks, his voice thin with fear.

"We don't need your kind of help, Pig," Vince snarls.

Hobbs rolls his eyes. "Why don't you let the adults talk this out, huh? Good? Good. So, Torreto, you gonna answer me? Or do I have to do another warm up?"

"You know Tanner's dirty," Dom says.

"Of course. But this is the first time we've been able to pin it on him." Hobbs pauses. "We need the kid to testify."

"No."

"We haven't got a case if we don't have him!" Hobbs' eyes narrow. "This isn't me asking permission, Torretto. It's a curtesy. I am taking O'Conner with me."

"He won't make it to trial, and you know it." Dom moves until he's inches from Hobbs. "I'm not letting you kill him over a chance."

"Then you'll aways be on the run."

"Mexico's a big place."

"And Tanner's got a long reach. He'll find you. And O'Conner will be dead anyway." Hobbs takes a deliberate step back, letting Dom have the mental advantage. "My way gives you all a fighting chance."

Dom turns to Brian. "You want to do this?"

"He doesn't –" Hobbs starts.

Dom whirls on him. "You finish that and we're outta here."

Hobbs' face darkens but he nods.

Dom looks to Brian again. "Well?"

Brian takes a shaky breath. "I'm in."

 **0/0/0/0/0**

They're put in a safe house apartment in the upper Manhattan Beach.

"They'll never think to look for you with all the rich snobs," is Hobbs excuse.

The fake smiles and overpriced shops make Brian's skin itch. He feels out of place. One look at him and you can tell he's not from around here, even with the pricey clothes the agency lends them. It's like sticking a suit on a little kid. It's cute, but you know it's not quite for real.

"Only four days," Dom says. "We got your back, Brian."

0/0/0/0/0

The bullet that tears through Brian's chest the moment he leaves the stand hurts worse than the time he got pegged with that iron bar. It wrenches through skin and nicks a rib. Brian goes down in a heap of tangled limbs, gasping out wet coughs.

Must've punctured a lung.

He's made sure Tanner goes to jail, but he might not live long enough to enjoy his new found freedom.

Typical.

"Don't you give up!" Dom roars as him as he tries to keep Brian's blood in him.

 **0/0/0/0/0**

The smell of old peppermint is what wakes Brian up. There's a beeping to his left. So, hospital. He wonders if he'll be able to open his eyes – the stories and TV shows always make it seem as if it's the hardest thing in the world to do. And, granted, it is hard, but it also doesn't take _that_ much effort. Mostly, Brian thinks, because he really wants to tell whoever this is to please stop breathing on him.

It's not Dom.

It's not even Jesse.

It's Leon, of all people.

The lean man blinks at seeing Brian stare up at him. "Hey."

Brian croaks out something.

Leon races out of the room, leaving Brian to struggle to get to a styrofoam cup on the table beside him. A large hand gets to it before he can. Dom. Who helps him sip a bit of water.

"You got lucky," the older man says. "Almost lost you when your lung collapsed."

Brian gulps. Dead. He almost died there. It's a scary thought. Tanner almost won this. "Sorry?"

Dom snorts. "Mia said you'd say that."

Brian cracks a smile.

"She also said to smack you for it." Dom reaches out and gently raps his knuckles against Brian's head. "Idiot. You got nothing to apologize for."

"You too," Brian wheezes out, before Dom can say they – the team – messed things up.

Dom smirks at him. "Docs say you'll be in here another two weeks."

Great.

Two weeks where Tanner can try and get his mob friends to off him in revenge. Speaking of which…Brian sits up a little, wincing as something pulls on his chest (probably the stitches). "We get him?"

"Yeah. Tanner's gone." Dom holds up a hand to stop Brian's question. "Hobbs got him shipped out to some place in DC. Some guy named Gibbs vouched for the lockup. Hobbs seemed to trust the guy. Said he's on the up and up."

So…the family's safe then. Brian leans back against pillows. Safe. He's not had that word apply for quite a while now. Rest bits, sure, but never safe. It's…its kinda nice. Maybe. Brian's not sure he trusts it though. Too many factors can play into this. Anything could happen in DC.

"Mia's coming later on," Dom tell him. "Texted her you're awake."

Brian relaxes further. Mia. Maybe he'll have a chance now to make up with her. Prove he's worth the risk. That he can take care of her. And maybe, when he turns eighteen, she'll say 'yes' to going out with him. He'd really, really like that. She's an amazing woman. Awesome in a way that Brian can't really explain.

Plus, Dom promised to get him this sweet upgrade for his car. And a redo on their race. He's totally winning this time round. That is, if Dom doesn't cheat again.

"Hey," he says to Dom. "I gotta…gotta ask you a question."

"Yeah?"

"You know…you know I woulda won that race if you hadn't cheated, right?"

Dom laughs. "You must be upped on meds."

* * *

So, this came from me watching Man from UNCLE, specifically where Napoleon Solo is blackmailed into working for the CIA. That made me think, what if Brian was too? How would that change things, especially if he (Brian) were a teen? Thus, this story.

I hope everyone wasn't too cliche or OOC. I tried hard not to let that happen.

There's teeny reference to NCIS. Couldn't resist. :D


End file.
